


There's The Girl

by fatinmary



Series: Hearts [1]
Category: Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Coulson is a smooth-ass mofo, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-18 05:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatinmary/pseuds/fatinmary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy is just an ordinary lab assistant to Jane Foster. She's also Agent Coulson's PA whenever she's not playing babysitter to the brilliant scientist. Her life, once free of romance and romantic-related drama is about to turn upside down when she meets a certain Avenger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. (Till Now) I Always Got By On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a song from Heart.
> 
>  
> 
> This is my first fic and un-beta. Please don't hurt me.
> 
> I suddenly found inspiration whilst listening to this song and images of Darcy & Steve popped up.
> 
>  
> 
> NB: To those who have already come across this fic, you may notice obvious changes I made, most prominent is the title. I was a bit unhappy with the way I originally wanted this to go, so I changed it and hopefully it doesn't suck *fingers crossed*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was always the “happy-go-lucky” kinda girl; never had a care in the world except living her life to the fullest. That was what was great and admirable about Darcy Lewis. But it was also quite an annoying trait of hers as well, especially to one Jane Foster. Erik Selvig on the other hand, didn't really mind now that he doesn't have to deal with Darcy and Jane so often.She was always the “happy-go-lucky” kinda girl; never had a care in the world except living her life to the fullest. That was what was great and admirable about Darcy Lewis. But it was also quite an annoying trait of hers as well, especially to one Jane Foster. Erik Selvig on the other hand, didn't really mind now that he doesn't have to deal with Darcy and Jane so often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is from the song Alone by Heart

She was always the “happy-go-lucky” kinda girl; never had a care in the world except living her life to the fullest. That was what was great and admirable about Darcy Lewis. But it was also quite an annoying trait of hers as well, especially to one Jane Foster. Erik Selvig on the other hand, didn’t really mind now that he doesn’t have to deal with Darcy and Jane so often.  

“Lucky bastard.” Jane huffed as Darcy once again ruffled her feathers with her antics.  

Jane didn't really mind that Darcy was mostly “all play and no work”. Most of the time, she more than welcomed it. But not today, though. Today, Jane was so not in the mood for anything but science and all science related science business. She had a lot on her plate what with S.H.I.E.L.D. constantly hovering over her back, and Thor hovering nowhere near. Trying as hard as she can to not to throw a fit (Darcy didn't _really_ deserve it anyway), she told Darcy to get lost. As politely as she could muster, by the way.  

So Darcy strode out of the lab, eyebrow raised at Jane, but a smile on her lips as she can probably head off over to Stark Tower in hopes of catching a glimpse of her favorite Avenger – Iron Man. And no, she will never in a million years make that admission. Tony has already a huge ego to boot and she wasn't about to let her admission cause his ego to further inflate than it already has. Though she has a sinking feeling Tony already knows as much. Dammit.  

Plugging in her iPod and humming along to Another Sad Love Song, she walked across the street to Stark Towet and to the lower floors of Stark Tower to where Tony’s lab was situated. His lab is farther away from all the other labs because, well, Tony being Tony, chances of something going 'kaboom' is quite high. So best to keep everyone else safe and as far away from him as possible.  

No one knows much about Darcy, but one thing Jane knows for sure, is that Darcy isn't so fond of going out on dates. She might not be the drop dead gorgeous that is Jane and Natasha Romanov, nor possesses the sophisticated elegance of Pepper Potts, but Darcy can def hold her own thank you very much. So Jane’s been trying to hook Darcy up with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and lab techs and anyone in between but it was always a no go. Darcy just wasn't interested in any of them.  

She humored her boss as much by going out for drinks or movies with the guys Jane hooks her up with. But that was it. There were no second dates. No bringing them back to her place or theirs. And she didn't want any of that. They were good guys, some really good-looking guys, but there was just nothing more than surface attraction to Darcy.  

Darcy prided herself on being an independent woman. She made her own money. Well, she didn't make _that_  much money, not as a lab assistant anyway, but enough to survive on nonetheless. She bought her own clothes, paid her own rent, paid for her own favorite caffeinated beverage every morning ... Suffice to say, she didn't need a man to make her life complete. Plus she felt that she had her whole life ahead of her to be worried about this kind of thing.  

That was how life was for Darcy, until she met Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to think one of the reasons why Darcy is so reluctant to be in a relationship is because she was burned badly once. Hence, the idea to include Toni Braxton's "Another Sad Love Song" felt fitting.


	2. Every Moment I’m Awake The Further I’m Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Staring into the mirror, he hardly recognizes the person looking back at him. Memories once again flood his vision – Bucky, the best friend he lost, his comrades, Peggy. Sweet, beautiful Peggy. He remembers the kiss, the last kiss he shared before … he shakes his head and splashes more water on his face. Drawing a deep breath, he wipes his face and steps out in search of breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is from the song These Dreams by Heart.

The man out of time. That’s what people call him – Tony, mockingly, when they first met. Jokingly, now that they’re close to being friends.

He tries to adapt but the world is so different from what he’s used to. The people are so different from what he’s used to. He wishes that he could just close his eyes so that he could return to his memories of where he felt he belonged. He just didn’t fit here. Tony might be a jackass most of the time but he’s right. He _is_ a man out of time.

He sighs and finally drags himself off the comforts of his king-sized bed and heads off trudgingly to the bathroom. He splashes ice cold water all over his face. Staring into the mirror, he hardly recognises the person looking back at him. Memories once again flood his vision – Bucky, the best friend he lost, his comrades, Peggy. Sweet, beautiful Peggy. He remembers the kiss, the last kiss he shared before … he shakes his head and splashes more water on his face. Drawing a deep breath, he wipes his face and steps out in search of breakfast.

He almost smiles at the thought. How can he still think of food when inexplicable things are happening in his life? Thrown 70 years into the future and not even aging a day, all he can think of is whipping up some pancake batches with whipped cream and strawberries to top it all off.

Just as he opens his very modern and state-of-the-art refrigerator, looking for ingredients for his pancakes, his front door opens and in swoops Tony with his Starkpad in hand. “Good. You’re up.” Tony comments to Steve’s hunched back.

“Hello to you too, Tony.” He mutters. Kids nowadays, the lack of decorum. “What can I help you with today?”

“Eh,” Tony shrugs. “Didn’t have anything in mind. Just came to see what you’re up to. And now that I see you’re about to cook breakfast, probably eat as well. I prefer bacon and eggs to go with the pancakes if you don’t mind.”

Steve just sighs and proceeds to take out the strips of bacon and a few eggs for Tony and also for the pancake mix. Cracking open the eggs, he mixed a couple into a bowl and started whisking them up to make scrambled eggs. Adding a drop of vanilla, a pinch of salt and lightly seasoned with pepper, he poured them into a frying pan.

Neither Tony nor Steve say a word, each performing their own task – Steve on the stove preparing breakfast, Tony on his Starkpad whilst simultaneously talking into his Starkphone.

Breakfast was finally done, the pancakes flipped and ready, eggs scrambled to perfection, bacon slightly burnt but that’s how Tony likes it anyway. They both eat in companionable silence until a few minutes later when Tony gets a message on his Starkphone.

“Huh,” he utters.

“What is it?” Steve questions, eyebrows furrowed.

Tony just shrugs non-committally. “Sharon’s back in town.”

The sound of a fork clattering on a plate startles him and he looks at Steve curiously. “Sorry, dropped my fork,” Steve mumbled.

“I can see that.”

Steve ignores Tony’s questioning gaze and continues shoving pancake and berries into his mouth. Hopefully, Tony will disregard the sudden falling of cutlery at the mention of a particular name and get back to his unfinished scrambled eggs. Unfortunately, that is _not_ how Tony Stark operates.

“Something you want to tell me?” he asks eyebrows waggling. “I didn’t know you and Agent Carter …”

“There’s nothing,” Steve cuts Tony off mid-speech.

“Yeah, I’ll believe you when you don’t look like the colour of my suit.” Tony retorts, eyes bore into Steve’s increasingly stooping shoulders.

Tony opened his mouth but whatever was threatening to come spurting out was halted by the blaring of his AC/DC ringtone. He gave one look that said ‘this isn’t over’ to Steve and answered his phone. “2.0! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Steve wondered who was on the phone with Tony. He sounded so … jovial. You can practically hear the smile dripping from his conversation with whoever it was on the other line. And 2.0? Really? He wondered who that nickname belonged to and why the person got that nickname. Although it’s been almost 2 years since he, well, defrosted, he still wasn’t so close to anyone outside of the Avengers. He felt safe, secure being amongst the Avengers. They were like him in their own ways. They understood him. They understood what he was going through. They didn’t mind his constant need for solitude and they allowed it as much as they can.

Although Tony wouldn’t allow Steve _that_ much luxury. Always barging into his alone time, such as this morning. The man can’t even eat breakfast in peace, dammit.

Today somehow, Steve didn’t mind the intrusion as much. Especially since Agent Carter’s name popped up. She’s back. Back from whatever mission SHIELD sent her off to. The thought of her tugged a small smile on Steve’s lips. He struggled to keep his face impassive in case Tony has any more questions about him and Agent Carter as Tony ended his call.

“Well, Cap.” Tony said, hands clasped together in front of him. “Thanks for breakfast, but I have to rush now. Science needs me.”

And with no further explanation, Tony sped off out of the apartment, leaving Steve sighing in relief and finishing off his breakfast alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me quite a while to tinker around. I originally had something else in mind, then decided to scrap that and do something along Steve's POV.
> 
> It's still a bit rough being un-beta and all that and I may or may not amend things if I think I can make it better. But in the meanwhile, I hope it's not that bad ...?


	3. Don't Leave Me Stranded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from the Heart's song 'Stranded'.
> 
>  
> 
> So I've been wrapping my head around how to continue from the previous chapter for weeks. And I thought of a sort of flashback in which Darcy is sucked into SHEILD.
> 
> Hence, this chapter is basically Darcy meets Son of Coul and joins SHEILD.

Almost a year has passed by since the ‘incident’ in New Mexico that brought to light the existence of alien Gods, giant robots hell-bent on destruction and secret government organisations whose job is to keep secrets, such as alien Gods and giant robots hell-bent on destruction from the world. Despite the initial shock of finding out that an absolute gorgeous homeless guy is in fact an actual Norse God, Darcy still manages to graduate. A tremendous feat considering the circumstances.

Right after the whole graduation shabang, Jane had offered Darcy to continue working with her, but Darcy politely declined for the time being. She wasn’t ready to travel to wherever it is Jane was going. Wherever Jane was going was to find an opening of some sort … the rainbow bridge that connects Asgard with Earth. And as much as she misses that hunk of a Thor, she doesn’t feel she’s quite ready to relive ‘that day’.

Not that she’s scared shitless or anything. Well, maybe just a little. But you can’t actually fault her for waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, heaving breath and accelerated heartbeat. That destroyer thing was a seriously scary shitless kind of incident.

And as she had declined Jane’s job offer, she suddenly found herself … jobless. In this day and age _and_ economy, getting a job is not going to be a walk in the park. Especially for a poli-sci grad whose true nature of internship was blurred beyond recognition by a certain secret government organisation. Basically, her resume was far from attractive which can probably explain her current predicament – waitressing at a local diner. How is this her life?

She was in the middle of a 12-hour back-aching, leg-breaking shift when suddenly, in breezed a familiar face in a standard federal agent issued suit. Son of Coul! What the hell is he doing here?

“What the hell are you doing here?”

That didn’t come out right. Agent Coulson just raised an eyebrow while his face remained impassive. Bless the man; he has so many facial expressions without actually showing any expression on his face.

“That came out a bit harsh, sorry about that.”

Agent Coulson waved her apologies away. “It’s fine, Miss Lewis.”

“Darcy.”

“Darcy.” Coulson repeated with a small smile.

“But seriously,” she started. “Why are you here?”

Coulson just smiled in answer to her question and walked over to an empty booth and sat down. “Coffee will be nice.”

Damn, it’s that smile again. Darcy didn’t know whether to kiss him or to kick him out of the diner. Yeah, you can’t really fault her for that either. Sure Coulson may be … of a certain age, and he may be stiff as a board, but you can't deny the man is smooth.

“Fine.” She huffed and went to grab a pot of coffee. “Anything else?” she asked while pouring the coffee. Coulson merely picked up his mug of steaming, blacker than black coffee and motioned for Darcy to sit. Hesitating slightly, she sat down opposite him.

What came out of Agent Coulson’s mouth next was utterly unexpected. She couldn’t imagine what went through the minds of SHEILD heads to even consider … SHEILD’s offering her a _job_? How is _this_ her life?

She wanted to say “hell no” but considering her current situation, 5 months as a menial waitress with no actual job prospects in her immediate horizon. She didn’t know if she could risk rejecting yet another job offer. On the other hand, could she survive being under the scrutiny of SHIELD? The very organisation that hid secrets from the world? The organisation full of spies and assassins and God knows what else?

“Why me?” she squeaked. Dammit, she sounded so timid.

“Because you had first-hand exposure to alien Gods and robots hell-bent on destruction.” Coulson simply said.

Darcy stared at him incredulously.  What is this guy? A mind reader as well as an iPod stealer? “But Jane,” she started.

“Jane is … already a part of SHIELD,” he interjected.

_Say what?_

“We assumed when we offered Dr Foster funding for the bifrost project in which she was automatically recruited, you would be included in the package. We didn’t count on you declining the offer seeing as you have no other job prospects in your immediate horizon.”

 _Seriously?_ This guy’s a frickin’ ninja.

“You might like to know,” he continued whilst finishing his coffee. “This is actually a courtesy offer. SHEILD needs to keep a tight rein on the individuals involved in the New Mexico incident.”

“Excuse me,” Darcy sputtered.

“With all due respect, we can’t risk the off-chance that someone may … blab about the incident.”

“I don’t blab,” she said angrily.

“You posted a picture of Thor on Facebook,” he countered.

“I didn’t know he was a God back then!” she threw her hands in the air in exasperation. The few people in the diner started to turn their heads in their direction. Not wanting to cause a scene, and also wanting to get the hell out of her current dead-end job, she finally pursed her lips and nodded.

“OK, fine.” She mumbled. “But what exactly am I going to do there? I mean, I’m not a scientist like Jane …”

Coulson smiled, glad that he didn’t have to do any more persuasion than he initially thought he needed to convince Darcy to join SHEILD. “We thought about that, Miss Darcy, and as your background doesn’t give much allowance for any particular unit in SHEILD, you will instead be hired as a personal assistant ... My personal assistant.”

Darcy couldn’t help but gape at Coulson’s announcement. How the _fuck_ is this her life? One minute she’s struggling with fruitless job applications whilst busting tables, the next minute she’s offered a job at a frickin’ secret government organisation. Even if it is as a personal assistant, but Goddammit not just any personal assistant, Son of Coul’s personal assistant.

Despite all these thoughts swimming in her head, she managed to put on an impassive expression. “Sounds swell,” she said indifferently.

Coulson merely smirked in response. Oh, he knew that she was far from indifferent to the job offer, but he’ll play her game. He proceeded to give her his contact details and informed her of the date of her _immediate_ employment with SHIELD, and the arrangement for her departure … to New York! 

Seeing as his job was done, he stood up and gave Darcy a small pat on her back. Probably a subtle gesture to keep all this quiet else she's a dead man. She didn't know what to think really. She was still sitting stoically when she heard the small bell clinging, an indication that someone has entered the diner, or left. Coulson has left the diner. She stood up and walked to the counter, took off her apron and left it there, smiling at Jeff the owner. Without waiting for Jeff to say anything, she hurried out of the diner and running to her small apartment, ready to pack to jet set off to New York. Hallelujah!

 

And that is the story of how Darcy became Agent Phil Coulson’s PA. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work and writer's block has taken over my life, so updates may take longer than I like. Also, I have no beta so mistakes are all mine and I'm sorry if I confuse you with my weirdness.


	4. Well I Stumbled Upon Your Secret Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Steve Rogers do on his day off? He goes and meet a young brunette, of course.
> 
>  
> 
> The title is from the song 'Dog and Butterfly' by Hearts.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Steve Rogers, Captain America, Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Tony Stark, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, the spy twins or the entire Marvel Universe.

It was a pretty mundane afternoon for Steve Rogers. He really didn’t have anything to do that day, or for the past few days for that matter. There weren’t any evil alien attacks, no evil scientists hell-bent on world domination (although Tony might be just a slight crack away from falling into that category but that was only because Tony really likes to push Steve’s buttons) and no national or international threat to security.

Not that he was actually _asking_ for evil to spread their villainous ways just so that he could spring into action. It’s just that … well; basically he’s just bored to tears.

He’s already been booted out of the gym at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ by Nick Fury because he destroyed just one too many punching bags and according to Fury, he needed to find something else to do with his free time. Actually, his exact words were, “Stop mutilating my God-damn gym equipment and find another God-damn hobby, God-dammit.”

He could go out to the park and draw. Yeah, he could definitely do that. The sun is out and shining bright in the sky. Heck, there’s not a single cloud he can practically see the blue in the blue sky. It’s such a beautiful day for art! But he just didn’t _feel_ it. Not today.

Clint and Natasha were off on their mission over in God knows where. This was one of those missions he wasn’t involved in. They didn’t need Captain America. Just a couple of ninja-assassins/spies to rid the day of evilness.

And thus he found himself wandering S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ which he swore he would never do because he didn’t really like the staring. He knows he’s a national icon after all; he _is_ Captain America (and no it’s not him being narcissistic) but sometimes he wished he was his once scrawny self again where no one paid him any attention and just let him be.

Steve walked past the bare walls of the floor where his office was situated in S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ and silently musing putting up art pieces to brighten up the place. He did wonder why Fury didn’t decorate the floor in the first place instead of leaving it bare. He wondered if it was because Fury didn’t know what would appeal to him, hence he probably felt it was best to just leave the chestnut coloured walls bare of any decoration. Only a few potted plants gave the hallway a little splash of colour. Steve decided then as he pushed open the door that he was going to hang up some paintings whether Fury likes it or not.

Steve was a little bit hungry but he didn’t feel like being among the S.H.I.E.L.D. lunch-time crowd at that moment. He was pretty sure that Jenny from accounting and her less than subtle flirtatious mannerisms were going to be there. He doesn’t mind that girls nowadays are a bit more forward than they were back in his day, but well “accidentally” brushing her breasts on his arms on numerous occasions and touching his legs so very close to his … you know … he didn’t really like that. He really didn’t like that at all.

And so he deliberately avoided the café and went in search of food elsewhere. He has his own pantry up on his floor but they forgot to stock up the fridge yesterday so today it was practically empty save for a few apples and some tofu something that one of the employee’s on his floor brought from that vegan shop two blocks away.

Maybe he should pay Tony and Bruce over at Stark Tower. Or maybe he should go down to the S.H.I.E.L.D. labs. He heard they hired a new astrophysicist who happened to be Thor’s favourite lady. He hadn’t had the privilege of meeting her yet. The week that Fury brought her over to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Steve was busy battling demon robots in Puerto Rico with Tony and the spy duo. He had to laugh at the crazy creations these mad scientists come up with. Each time crazier than the last. But demon robots are certainly something new, that’s for sure.

And when the team came back, Steve had spent the next few days recuperating over at Stark Tower instead. He got hit pretty badly that mission and Tony had the necessary equipment to get him better. Tony being Tony didn’t want to share with S.H.I.E.L.D. the secret of his rejuvenating a super-soldier prowess, therefore Steve didn’t really have a choice but to head over to Stark’s whenever things didn’t bode so well for him in a mission.

The elevator ‘dinged’ at level B12. Steve stepped out and looked around the pristine, whiter-than-white hallway. The brightness of the whiteness almost blinded him and it took him a moment to adjust his eyesight. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands and found that on his right was a dead-end, and on to his left was a long, quiet hallway. He walked down the hallway until he came to a glass door and he peeked into the lab and the sight before him shocked him. A young woman was laying face down seemingly lifeless. He searched around the lab but couldn’t see anyone else in there with her and couldn’t see any sign of an attack of any kind.

Cautiously, he entered the lab and knelt beside the woman, eyes wandering around wary of any ambush. The woman’s right arm was stretched out towards the direction of a Starbucks tumbler, its content spilled on the white-tiled floor.

“Ma’am, are you OK?” he asked, gingerly examining her all over for any injuries. The woman only groaned in answer. “Good, she’s alive,” he thought to himself.

Just then, the door opened and another woman popped in, carrying a tower of files, the top few threatening to slip and fall from the stack. She breezed in past Steve and the young woman still motionless on the floor, and put down the files in a huff on a nearby table, already filled to the brim with stacks of paper, notebooks, pens and all sorts of mumbo jumbo littering the table. She finally spun around in Steve’s direction with a slight frown.

“Oh.” She finally registered there was a man in the room with her. “Who…what…are you…?” She started but before Steve had a chance to even open his mouth, “Darcy, get up already. We’re not alone anymore.”

The young woman, apparently called Darcy, once again just groaned in answer. “Is she alright?” Steve asked, surprised the other woman wasn’t more concerned about the situation. “Do I need to call her a doctor?”

The woman just stood there, hands on her hips and rolling her eyes at her motionless friend. “The only doctor Darcy needs right now is a shrink.” Steve quirked an eyebrow at this statement. “Darcy spilled her latte.” Steve looked towards the spilled drink, but still didn’t see how … “She’s just being melodramatic as usual, and apparently this time, it’s because she spilled her latte.”

“Jane.” Darcy finally raised her head. “It’s not just _any_ latte, Jane. It’s my Cinnamon Dolce Latte with extra whipped cream and caramel drizzles and chocolate dustings and topped off with tiny marshmallows specially made for me by the ever amazing Freddie, the greatest barista on Earth, Jane. And now it’s all gone. And I didn’t even get a single sip.” And with that, she dropped her head back down to the floor.

Jane merely sighed and threw her hands in the air in exasperation, whilst Steve stared open-eyed in bewilderment at this exchange. After the confusion momentarily subsided, it finally registered to Steve the other woman, the one _not_ currently laying on the floor, was called Jane. “Jane Foster? Are you Doctor Jane Foster?” Steve asked.

The woman in question looked up at the blond Adonis in surprise, his looks could definitely rival her Thor for dreamboat of the year.

“Yes, I’m Jane Foster.” She walked towards Steve hands outstretched to shake his hand. Steve took her tiny hand in his own large hand, but she gave a surprisingly firm handshake for someone so small. “And this,” she gestured to the body still on the floor, “is Darcy Lewis. My assistant.” Her assistant murmured in response.

"Hi, I'm Steve. Steve Rogers.” he introduced himself.

At that introduction, the once immobile almost dead to the world Darcy, suddenly got up and stared at the man who was kneeling over her. “Steve Rogers? As in, Captain America Steve Rogers?”  

Steve slowly nodded, unable to make heads or tale the situation. He should be relieved that this young woman is alright, right?

“Holy heart failure! It’s Captain America!” she exclaimed at the top of her lungs, almost fangirling and toppling over her childhood hero, her spilled latte long forgotten.

And that, is how Darcy Lewis, former intern to astrophysicist Jane Foster, personal assistant to Agent Phil Coulson cum lab assistant to Jane Foster, met Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my last update. I was really going crazy trying to figure out how to get Steve and Darcy to meet for the first time and in the end I figured there can't be a 'conventional' meet for the pair and this (fortunately or unfortunately) is the best I can come up with.
> 
> I'm really sorry if I disappointed anyone if I was unable to meet anyone's expectations, but believe me I tried. Oh, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm really struggling conversation-wise.
> 
> I'll try to be more diligent with my updates but I'm making things up as I go along so it might be real quick or it might take a while longer (hopefully not another 3 months)
> 
> And for those of you who have stuck by me and liked this fic, *hugs all around* thank you so much. You inspire me to do better.


	5. Nobody Knows Your Melancholy Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s a secret, Tony. I can’t say in front of people.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from Little Queen by Heart.

Today Steve found himself sitting in Tony’s lab in Stark Tower in deep discussion with Bruce Banner, whilst Tony was nearby tinkering away and occasionally interjecting their conversation to give his opinion. They’ve been talking away for a couple of hours when the lab door suddenly burst open and in breezed a young, bespectacled brunette who was juggling two drinks and a paperbag which was emitting a pleasant aroma that quite resembled some delicious sugary pastries that made Steve suddenly _very_ hungry.

“Here’s your chai tea latte, Brucey.” The vibrant Darcy handed the scientist a steaming tumbler, the design of the tumbler was as colourful and lively as the young assistant herself. “And for you, Tony, seeing as I’m feeling extra generous today, I’ve got you a wonderful, delicious, sweet-as-you-are frap.” She gave Tony the drink and her best winning smile that really lit up her face.

Tony reached out to take the drink offered albeit eyebrows raised suspiciously, “I didn’t order any frap, Darcy. Or any drink for that matter.”

“I just thought you needed something refreshing to drink today,” Darcy explained, a smile still playing on her lips. “You know coz you’ve been working so hard, and in this hot weather, what better way to beat the heat with a yummy oh-so delicious frap,” she elaborated. Tony still looked at her suspiciously. “Oh, look. Donuts!” She waved the paperbag in Tony’s face. As she was talking, in the corner of her eye, she spotted a blonde, muscular dude sitting and watching the exchange, a bemused expression on his face. “Oh, Captain America … err Mr Rogers … Steve,” she spluttered. “Crap, I mean, sorry. I didn’t know you were gonna be here. Else I would’ve gotten you something as well.”

“S’kay Miss Lewis,” he started, but was cut-off by Tony. “This sounds fishy. You’re acting fishy. Why are you acting fishy? What do you want, Lewis?”

“Tony!” Darcy feigned shock at that remark, clutching her chest dramatically. “Can’t I even get my fellow Avengers a drink without an ulterior motive? You know, coz I got you this as a small token of gratitude for saving the world on various occasions. It's the least I could do after all _you've_ done. Heck, I always get Brucey his chai tea latte.” Steve mouthed “Brucey” questioningly at Bruce but he merely shook his head and silently chuckled into his foaming drink.

“You could and you do … for Bruce,” Tony answered whilst sipping his drink. “This is really nice. But it’s not in your nature to buy _me_ a drink without me asking. Heck, you won’t even buy me a drink without making a titanic fuss even if I _did_ ask.” His eyes narrowed at Darcy.

“Don’t be the B in Apartment 23, Tony!” Darcy said with both hands on her hips. Tony merely cocked his left eyebrow challengingly at Darcy, coaxing her to speak out.

“The last time I asked you if you could buy me some sandwiches you had me get you tickets to that Backstreet Boys concert.”

“It was their reunion!” Darcy retorted.

“ _And_ backstage passes _and_ meet n' greet passes.” Tony added.

“Fine.” She huffed. Tony smirked; pleased he's getting Darcy to reveal her true intentions. “I need your help on a something something something something.”

Well, that wasn’t much of a revelation.

“Something what, Lewis?” Tony queried, putting down his drink and going back to tinkering with his current invention, whatever it is he’s trying to invent.

“Something that you need to help me on.” She simply answered. Tony turned his head and looked pointedly at her.

“Something secret something something secretive, Tony.” Was that supposed to be an explanation? Tony turned his head back to his tinkering and blatantly ignored Darcy. Darcy huffed and walked up to him and pulled him by his arm, forcing him to turn around to face her.  “It’s a secret, Tony. I can’t say in front of people.” She faked whispered to Tony, which both Bruce _and_ Steve obviously heard and it wasn’t because of Steve had super-hearing either. Clearly, Darcy was _not_ good at secrets.

Tony didn’t say anything. He just looked at Darcy, his expression unreadable. Darcy stared back at him, lips pouted and her right hand still clutching his arm.

Steve watched the pair with eyebrows raised, almost reaching his hairline. This was one altercation he’s positive he’d never encountered before. Or did he? He can’t be certain. But he is pretty sure he can hear crickets at this precise moment. He dared a peek at Bruce, but from the corner of his eye, Bruce was back doing his work, completely ignoring everyone around him.

He vaguely recalled Clint mentioning that Tony frequently squabbled with a young lady half Tony’s age over trivial matters. Apparently, that young lady must be Darcy, if this situation is any indication to go by.

Steve didn’t know what to make of Darcy Lewis. Since their first encounter, re on the floor of Jane Foster’s lab, spilled coffee surrounding them, he’d only bump into her a couple more times after that. And each time, she continued to intrigue him.

She was a force of nature, always with a dazzling smile on her face whenever they’d bump into one another, a mouth that won’t stop talking but it never annoyed him because at least he didn’t have to think of a topic of conversation when she was doing all the talking for the both of them. From what he heard from the rest of the Avengers, and even Tony, she was both endearing and slightly exasperating but all of them cared deeply for her.

Darcy was initially roped in by Coulson, however, when Jane came to S.H.I.E.L.D., she went back to being Jane’s assistant. But because Jane’s nature of work demanded her to go on constant explorations, mostly to Norway for some reason, or whenever Darcy happens to annoy Jane just a tad too much, Darcy will go back to being Coulson’s PA and annoy the hell out of him. But Darcy was good at what she did, both as a lab assistant to Jane, and as a personal assistant to Coulson, so they didn’t really mind that she was how she is.

“Your fingers are like magical baby wieners, Darcy.” Tony finally said. “For someone so tiny, you sure have a firm grip, you’re _almost_ hurting me. And for that, I am willing to be all ears for you.”

“Good,” Darcy said. Relief clear on her face. “C’mon.” Her hand that was still firmly gripping Tony’s arm pulled him away towards the exit. “Bye, guys!” Darcy hollered at Bruce and Steve. Steve waved dumbly, amused at the sight of seeing Iron Man being dragged by a 5 foot 4 young lady.

“Brucey?” Steve asked with a small snicker. “Long story,” Bruce answered simply with a smile.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Apparently this something something secret was really a big one because Darcy dragged Tony all the way to the penthouse of Stark Tower where only a select few could enter (Loki’s intrusion does not count as the select few).

“OK my little minion,” Tony finally said as they stepped out of the penthouse elevator and into the spacious living area. “What’s up?”

“Jane set me up on a date,” Darcy simply said.

Tony was clearly entertained by this piece of news. The smirk on his face was starting to annoy Darcy.

“With Wayne,” she added.

The smirk on Tony’s face turned into a shit-eating grin. “Wayne? As in Wayne Aarons?” he asked. “Agent Dipshit you’re always talking about?”

Darcy nodded. “Jane doesn’t know he’s a major douche with a capital D.”

“Clearly,” the smirk was back.

Darcy somehow felt she should regret coming to Tony of all people. Unfortunately, most of her tales of woe she would probably only tell Tony. Coz even though Tony was a pain most of the times, he was a good listener and he wasn’t that type of guy who would give you crappy advice just to make you shut up and move on. Despite his snark, Tony always got your back. Even on days when everything was shit for Darcy, Tony would always be able to make her feel better.

“So …,” Tony drawled. “What are you gonna do?”

Darcy turned around and sighed frustratingly. “I said I’ll go.”

Tony choked on his drink. “What?”

“She looked so happy for me,” whined Darcy. “I couldn’t tell her. You know what it’s like to tell her?” Darcy took a deep breath; Tony braced himself for another one of Darcy’s verbal diarrhoea.  “It’s like kicking someone when they’re down, but it’s worse than that coz that person isn’t even a person, it’s a puppy. And not just any puppy, but a sick puppy … with an amputated leg. You don’t do that to a puppy, Tony. Especially not when it doesn’t have a leg. What kind of person does that to a puppy? I’ll tell you who … certainly not me. I don’t do that. I love puppies. I mean, I love cats more than dogs coz cats are so lovable and amazing and fluffy although some might argue they’re not as loyal as dogs coz dogs apparently will come running straight to you when you come home from work and can sense danger and rescue you, but what if the dog is a Chihuahua? Will it be able to rescue you as well? Coz they’re so tiny and Jane is so tiny. Well, she’s like my height but she’s skinny, so she looks tinier than me. But I’m not saying Jane’s a Chihuahua coz she’s more like …”

Tony started getting dizzy from all of this and decided he had to cut her off and get her back to the point. “Darcy,” he said.  “Your 5 minute monologue said a lot of things but none of them made any sense.”

Darcy huffed and started to open her mouth to retort, but Tony held up his hand and spoke instead, “I think long story short is you’re going out with the agent with two first names because Jane thinks you both are a match made in Heaven and you agreed to it coz she’s your boss.”

“Jane’s my friend,” Darcy countered.  

“Who’s also your boss,” Tony replied. “Look, here’s what I think you should do.” Tony gestured to Darcy to sit down on the couch. Usually she’s less agitated and there’s less probability of her emitting another verbal diarrhoea when she’s sitting down than when’s she’s standing. It’s been scientifically proven. Tony would know. He’s a scientist.

“Either tell Jane the truth that Agent Aarons would rather talk to your boobs than your face, which will then most probably piss her off, and I fear for his safety if she knows and I would pay big money to see what happens next,” Tony said prompting Darcy to roll her eyes. “Hey, I’m trying to help you out here!”

“It was a supportive eye-roll,” Darcy argued.

“Anyway,” Tony sighed. “Or … you go out with him for one date, then come back and tell Jane there were no sparks or fireworks or chemistry or fairy-tale weddings and that’ll be the end of that.”

Now it was Darcy’s turn to sigh. She really didn’t want to upset Jane by telling her how Agent Aarons treated her – like a piece of meat. Because he was practically an angel in front of Jane. Darcy supposed this could be due to the fact that basically _everyone_ knows Jane is Thor’s favourite lady, and you do _not_ want to be messing with Thor’s favourite lady.

But not a lot of folks at S.H.I.E.L.D. know that _Darcy_ is also Thor’s favourite lady. Less favourite compared to Jane but a favourite nonetheless. But Darcy couldn’t be bothered to shove that information in people’s faces. All they knew about Darcy Lewis was that she was Jane’s assistant and occasional PA to Agent Phil Coulson.

“Did you tell him you’re friends with The Avengers?” asked Tony. “Coz I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t wanna mess with you if he knew.”

“I'm not gonna pull the Avengers card, Tony,” replied Darcy. “It’s just showing off. Plus if there’s a really cute guy who kinda likes me, he might not wanna go out with me coz he’ll be too intimidated by the company I keep …”

“Then date one of The Avengers,” suggested Tony.

“Heck what?” Darcy exclaimed. “What? Like date Clint?”

“Do you have a death wish?” inquired Tony. “Do you want Natasha to kill you and make it look like an accident?” Darcy simply stared defiantly at Tony.

Tony pursed his lips. “How about Peter Parker? He’s cute,” he suggested.

Darcy snorted, “Isn’t he, like, 12?”

Darcy threw her head back on the couch and sighed dramatically. “I’ll just … sleep on it, I guess. As much as I thrive on making rash decisions, I don’t think I could right now.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Tony patted her arm consolingly. “I know you don’t go out much and you treat your heart like it’s made of glass and don’t get me wrong but that's not a bad thing. But just so you know, even if you wanna make other people happy, just don’t forget to make sure you’ll also be happy in the end as well.”

Darcy smiled and turned towards Tony to wrap her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. “Thanks, Tony. You’re a really good listener,” she said.

“I know,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her. “It’s my third best quality. Right behind awesomeness and humility.”

  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My boss was on leave for a couple of days and this happened (Shh... don't let her know that). 
> 
> I was really inspired by Kat Dennings and RDJ's relationship in Charlie Bartlett and wanted to incorporate that into my fic so I did and I hope that it appeals to everyone reading this fic. Plus, I really love their chemistry and I hope to dear God that someone out there will get Kat in The Avengers movie just so that there'll be some Darcy & Tony interaction that will totes be mega AWESOME I just know it!
> 
> Also, I have unashamedly stole some quotes from one of my favourite shows - Psych:  
> “Don’t be the B in Apartment 23”  
> “Your fingers are like magical baby wieners"  
> “It’s my third best quality. Right behind awesomeness and humility.”
> 
> And a bonus quote from MTV's Awkward:  
> “It was a supportive eye-roll”


End file.
